Synopsis: The story of a family and a family business.
Starring: Benicio del Toro as Zsa-zsa Korda, one of the richest men in Europe; Mia Threapleton as Liesl, his daughter/a nun; Michael Cera as Bjorn, their tutor. With: Riz Ahmed, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Mathieu Amalric, Richard Ayoade, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rupert Friend, Hope Davis.
What We Thought:
The Phoenician Scheme is not my favorite Wes Anderson film. I enjoy about 85% of his filmography and respect what he does as a filmmaker, but unfortunately his latest falls into the 15% of his work that just didn’t do it for me. That’s the best way to describe the film, it just didn’t do it for me.
It’s 100% a Wes Anderson film. It has all his quirks. It’s 100% his stylish filmmaking. It has a ton of the same actors that appear in his films. Unfortunately it just didn’t all land. It’s kind of boring and slow, but not in the way you expect from Anderson. His movies tend to be slow, but they are usually witty to go along with his visual aesthetic. This isn’t overly entertaining and the bulk of the cast is simply in it to say they are in it.
I think that’s the biggest issue with the film, the majority of the side characters and cameos serve no real purpose. Its two leads, Benicio del Toro and Mia Threapleton, are fantastic, but Tom Hanks, Bill Murray, Bryan Cranston, Willem Dafoe and the rest don’t add anything to the movie. Michael Cera brings his normal low energy/no range “acting” you expect, but the role actually kind of calls for that. The cameos and side characters that del Toro and Threapleton visit along the way do not require the named actors that show up. The characters in Heaven (Dafoe, Murray, etc.) add nothing to the film.
I’m not even sure what the film is trying to say. Anderson is known for offbeat movies, but there’s usually an underlying message or story. I have no real idea what I was supposed to get out this. Is capitalism bad? Down with the patriarchy? I have no idea what Anderson is trying to say with these characters.
I’m sure there are Wes Anderson fans who will say The Phoenician Scheme is utterly brilliant because he’s not allowed to have a dud. But that’s what this is, a dud. It doesn’t go anywhere. It lacks the dark comedy laughs most of his films have. It lacks a true message hidden among his offbeat backdrops. I will say that Mia Threapleton gives a breakthrough performance, but that shouldn’t surprise anyone if they realize she’s Kate Winslet’s daughter. I’ll watch his next film without second guessing seeing it, but I’d struggle to watch this one again.
The Nerds Templar 